Melting Pot franchisee to open burger restaurant in Sarasota

A veteran franchisee of The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant chain with a location in downtown Sarasota, is dabbling in the burger bar industry and will soon open Sarasota’s first Burger 21.

The franchise will be owned by Barry Berkowitz and Brian Marshall, who are no rookies in the franchisee game. The partners are both natives to Sarasota, and plan to develop several more restaurants in the area in the coming years.

"As a Melting Pot franchisee of 22 years, I feel that Burger 21 is a natural growth extension for me and I know we'll be successful with the extensive training and support provided by Front Burner Brands," Berkowitz said in a statement. "I'm confident that the Sarasota community will embrace Burger 21 and the gourmet ‘beyond the better burger’ experience it offers without the gourmet price."

Berkowitz does not own the franchise The Melting Pot location in Sarasota. He owns locations in Maryland and Virginia.

There is no confirmed site for the fast casual burger concept in Sarasota yet, but the restaurant plans to open in the coming months. Burger 21 offers 21 burger and slider creations, ranging from beef to chicken, turkey, shrimp or tuna, and also sell salads, hot dogs, and boast a milkshake bar. The chain is an affiliate of Front Burner Brands, a restaurant management company headquartered in Tampa.

Burger 21 has five open locations in Tampa and Orlando, and 12 franchised restaurants in development including several in the New York area and across the East Coast. The company’s second Florida location will open near the University of Central Florida at the end of February.

Photo courtesy of Burger 21.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com.

Justine Griffin

Justine Griffin covers retail and tourism for the Herald-Tribune’s business section. She is a Tampa Bay native who graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2010. She can be reached at 941-361-4951 or on Twitter @SunBizGriffin.

ADD A COMMENT (Limit 5,000 characters)

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate
comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain
"signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block
users who violate any of our posting standards,terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies
governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully
responsible for the content that you post.

VIEWING 1 COMMENT

BrandonBag

Friday, June 13, 2014 at 1:59 am

during the Boston area . Then tie colors , deep black size-fits- all , not new. By accident , Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lauren) to win the means design tie . He earned ??bold innovations in the tie appearance , don't just increased in width twice massive could be more bright and colorful , attractive raised individuals twice , the result ishttp://www.hmarchitects.co.uk/michael-kors/michael-kors-handbags-uk-online.html
is mostly a deep breath of good taste American fashion brand , style , highly stylized Ralph Lauren 's two developer "Lauren Ralph Lauren" ( Ralph Lauren Women ) and " Polo Ralph Lauren "( Ralph Laolun Ma ball men ) on this common characteristics. In adition to[url=http://www.motiongraphicsmedia.co.uk/michael-kors/cheap-michael-kors-outlet.html]cheap michael kors outlet[/url]
whether it's perfume or containers, have focused on the upper class customers craving for a fabulous life . Or as Ralph Lauren ( Ralph Lauren ) , Mr. I said : " The stage that my design should be to find the desire of people's minds - the number one[url=http://www.store-all.co.uk/michael-kors/michael-kors-handbags-uk.html]michael kors handbags uk[/url]
from a Country of america , and in addition the North america by using an intense flavor . Two brand Ralph Lauren name PolobyRalphLauren and RalphLauren worldwide sales in the neighborhood carryout a high -quality fashion , the designer Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren 's reputation and brand consistently carry forward the glorious[url=http://www.hmarchitects.co.uk/]Cheap Michael Kors Bags UK[/url]
across the nation Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lauren), whose father became a painter with his fantastic mother truly typical housewife , in their family background is bothered, almost led clothing not the most effective. However , Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lauren) in your acuity of clothing , goes that can then be born , playing the board game through the urine of sewing clothes themselves , the generals equipment and jeans together i'm certain it's , so as[url=http://www.iloveyoulove.co.uk/]http://www.iloveyoulove.co.uk/[/url]

Last modified: February 21, 2013
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published without permissions. Links are encouraged.